Caged
by yas-m
Summary: Based on the promo for 6x14. The Losties on Hydra being held in the cages. Kate/Sawyer, Kate/Claire, Kate/Jack


**Title:** Caged

**Characters:** Kate/Sawyer, Kate/Claire, Kate/Jack

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Based on the promo for 6x14. The Losties on Hydra being held in the cages.

* * *

Widmore's people lead them through the jungle, their hands tied behind their backs and rifles shoved against their shoulder blades.

She hears Jin whisper something to Sun in Korean behind her and the other woman swallows a sob. Sawyer in front of her insists on talking to Widmore and threatens the woman in charge.

She feels her stomach turn as they step into the familiar Dharma compound.

"Lock them up in that cage," Widmore's number two orders the men, and Kate's legs are suddenly heavier as her need to run brings back a woman she has long outgrew.

She shuts her eyes tight with the sound of the creaky cage door fill her ears and the stench of rust, mold, dirt and stale fishbiscuits invade her nostrils.

The lump in her throat grows as she opens her eyes to the familiar nightmare before her and watches her friends step into the polar bear cage.

She is shoved in when her legs fail to take the few steps left for her to join her friends. Her mind is clouded, drowning in a see of buried memories, and suddenly the figures before her become ghosts of ragged-clothes bearded man, an angry madman drenched in an invisible rain and a blonde woman who looks oddly out of place.

She jumps back with gasp, startled when Sawyer touches her shoulder. "Are you ok?" he whispers, and she can hear the tremble he tries to hide in his voice.

Her lips press tightly, and she nods, not trusting her voice to fake the answer. "Kate," he says calmly and steps forward, his hand moving from her should to grab her wrist. Her eyes shift to where his has landed and she realizes that she had been gripping the rusted bars a little to hard. She peels her fingers away from the cold bars and sees the scratches and splinters they had left on her palms. She pats her hands against her jeans, and an involuntary hiss escapes between her teeth.

Hours later, Kate finds herself awake as she watches her friends drift in and out of sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Claire looking at her. The weight of the guilt she feels crushes her but she find the strength to walk over to the young woman sitting in the far corner.

Kate settles down next to her, and the two sit in silence for a few minutes. Claire's gaze is a million miles away and she doesn't look at Kate. Her voice is emotionless as she states "he is going to kill us all."

"Claire, I'm sorry, we shouldn't have..." Kate says, waiting for the Claire to look at her, but the Australian woman doesn't budge. Kate leaves her thought hanging as her own mind starts to travel too.

Another few minutes pass and the silence grows thicker, struggling with the cold evening breeze for dominance over captives. Kate starts to fall asleep before she feels the blonde woman shift next to her. She opens her eyes to see Claire looking straight at her now, and before Kate has time to adjust, Claire throws at her unexpectedly, "were you with him the whole time?"

Kate blinks trying to catch up but Claire is quicker, "with Aaron? Was he with you from the time you left?"

Kate nods twice before she can answer "yes, Claire, he was with me the whole time. Everyday, for three years. I tried to take care..."

Claire cuts her before she could finish, and Kate swallows, trying to keep up with a conversation that is going in a way she never expected, "so it was just the two of you?"

Kate cannot fight the small smile that draws on her lips as she says "no, Jack was with us for a while too."

A strangled "Oh," escapes Claire's lips and she turns around again, her thoughts travelling to what she imagines was the perfect house in LA, with a big porch, and a swing set in the back yard. She sees a blond toddler skipping in the sunbathed yard, she sees him perched on Kate's hip lip as they welcome her brother home. She imagines Jack's car pulling up the driveway. She sees her son running up to his uncle and leaping into his arms. She sees Aaron pulling his arm, as Jack tries to sneak a quick kiss on Kate's lips, to show him his latest drawings and Lego structures. She sees a perfect, happy family and wonders if that is the family she was supposed to give her son up to in the first place.

"The missiles..." Claire whispers, turning to look at Kate once again, "Jack was going back to John, do you think..." Claire finds herself unable to finish as she watches Kate's eyes well up.

Kate shuts her eyes for a moment, taking in the question she had been dreading to ask herself she she heard the missiles fly above their heads on the beach. She braves a smile and opens her eyes to meet Claire's frightened look, she nods slightly, "I'm sure he's fine," she whispers, her own confidence coming as a shock to her.

Claire smiles back, she finds Kate's hand and squeezes it lightly, "Yeah, I'm sure he is."

Claire starts to drift off but Kate remains alert, as she recalls all the times she and Jack walked away from each other, ran away, turned their backs and slammed doors, all those times with a yearning last glance and look over the shoulder. She sees him swimming away without a goodbye and knows this could not have been the end. If one of them were to die, they deserved more than just a quick glance stolen against the waves. _He's fine_, she thinks.

Kate shakes her head and states into the darkness "he has to be."

-----


End file.
